MathStart 3: Less Than Zero (Negative Numbers)

It is so much fun to be a penguin—especially when you can swirl around on your very own ice scooter. Perry really wants one, but they cost 9 clams and he doesn't have a clam to his name. Then mom pays him 4 clams to trim the ice in front of their house. Perry decides to make a chart to track his savings. So far, so good! But then he goes to the Ice Circus with Fuzzy and it costs 5 clams. Fuzzy lends him the extra clam and now Perry is in debt and has to mark his chart at -1. When Baldy loans him 2 clams for a Fishy Float, the total dips even further, to -3. Will Perry be able to climb out of negative number territory, pay back his friends, and make enough money for a scooter? Good thing there's always plenty of snow to shovel! The introduction of negative numbers extends a child's knowledge of the number system and is an important concept in algebra. Used with permission from Stuart J. Murphy.